Report states private investors pushing up farmland prices in Saskatchewan

A new report says private investors have pushed up farmland prices in Saskatchewan.

University of Regina Sociology professor Dr. Andre Magnan is co-author of the report.

He says most investor purchases are 39 per-cent higher than other arm’s length buyers and 72 per-cent more than intra-family buyers.

“In certain RMs, farmland investors were responsible for between 10 and 20-percent of all farmland acres bought in a given year,” says Magnan. “We believe in those circumstances, investors are having an impact on the market.”

Magnan says investors make it more difficult for existing farmers to expand their operations or for new farmers to buy land.

He says the province has good regulations but will need to monitor future trends.

He says 840 thousand acres have been bought by out of province investors.